


Forgotten Scars

by Shinocchi



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Domestic, Established Relationship, Finger Sucking, M/M, Past, Post-Canon, Scars, plot fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-18
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-04-05 01:12:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4159983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinocchi/pseuds/Shinocchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aoba was used to seeing the scars on Noiz's body, be it new or old scars. They were constant reminders of all the struggles that Noiz had gone through.</p><p>But <i>Aoba</i> had his own scars too - and when Noiz finally set his eyes on them, he realized that they were more than just normal scars. They were <i>Aoba</i>'s own struggles too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forgotten Scars

**Author's Note:**

> This story is inspired by a question of "Do you think Aoba has his own scars, if not more than his boyfriend?"  
> I believe that Aoba has his own scars. And these scars are no less important than the scars his boyfriend bears. This story is also a mirror story of [Under Our Skins](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1911093), which talked about Noiz's scars instead of Aoba's.
> 
> So here you go! Apparently I can't write a one-shot less than 10k of words anymore. Thank you for reading and enjoy~

_I can’t remember a lot of things – specifically, I can’t remember what happened during the years when I was playing Rhyme._

When he tried to remember, all he could make out was a sea of darkness. The voice in his head was already less distinct than usual after the Platinum Jail incident. But he knew that somewhere in his head, _he_ was still there and he wanted to take his own time to confront this long, overdue conflict. It wasn’t like he minded his existence, if he was to be completely truthful to himself. But for some reason, he wanted to have a complete closure for this and he didn’t know what else he could do but wait. He hoped that one day he would be able to talk to _him_ again, even regretted slightly when he refused to face _him_ when _he_ was once so very persistent to engage in a conversation with him far before he met Noiz.

Opening his eyes, he immediately raised a hand to cover one eye when bright sunlight made its way through the gap of their bedroom curtains and beneath his eyelids. He was still in a daze, mind barely clear, vision blurred. It took him a few moments to make sense of where he was before he blinked a few times, just to make sure that he was in a reality he presumed he was in.

“Ah, it was a dream,” he whispered, his voice hoarse as he frowned slightly, turning around to catch another few minutes of sleep when he caught sight of the presence of another person just right beside him.

Noiz had grown to be a tad different from how Aoba remembered him to be. He remembered the piercings on his face, along with the ones on his ears. He’d never gotten a chance to touch them properly before he found them gone, replaced by a mature-looking, sleek appearance that was the current Noiz he was facing at the moment. Occasionally, he still found it surreal to be in the situation he was now in. He knew that Noiz was still the Noiz he knew; but ever since he followed him to Germany, he had also come to know _more_ about his boyfriend that had slowly but surely built an impression stronger than the one he had from when he first knew him.

Noiz moved slightly, pulling the blanket up as he did to cover more than half of his face. He didn’t seem like he’d wake up anytime soon. Smiling blithely, Aoba shifted closer, kissing his boyfriend on the forehead before he closed his eyes.

The dream had drowned out most of his energy – both mentally and physically. It was Sunday anyway, and Sunday sounded like a good day for a sleep in.

 

When he woke up again – this time, feeling more refreshed than ever – Noiz was already awake, one hand propping his head while the other playing with the tips of Aoba’s hair.

“Morning,” he smiled, releasing the strands so that he could lean in to kiss Aoba on the forehead.

“Sorry, I overslept,” Aoba said. The weather was somewhat humid, and cuddling in the sheet was starting to form sweat all over himself. He squirmed, noticing how annoying the summer atmosphere had crept up on him when Noiz wiped a single drop of sweat off his face, then lifting the droplet to his lips and licked it off his finger.

“Don’t do that,” Aoba scowled. Sitting up, he leaned against the headboard, yawning as he rubbed his eye with a knuckle.

“What time is it now?” he asked with bleary eyes. The drowsiness had returned to him and it surprised him on how he could be so tired when he’d just woken up.

“It’s ten,” Noiz answered, joining Aoba to lean against the headboard as he pulled his Coil out, summoning a few holograms in the process.

“What’s that? Work?” Aoba asked, now more awake than before.

“Today’s schedule,” Noiz replied simply, a thin frown gracing his features as he read through the long list of things Aoba was too far away to make out.

“What schedule?” he asked instead. “Don’t tell me you’re still working.”

A small curve appeared at the end of Noiz’s lips as he turned his head, just enough to send a suggestive smirk at Aoba’s direction before he returned to the screen, now completely loaded with more pictures to accompany the tiny words.

“You told me not to work during weekends. I don’t plan to break that promise.”

Noiz was still not answering his question but he decided not to probe too much on it. That was all he needed to know anyway. He knew that sometimes Noiz could work too hard to the extent that he’d forget about taking care of himself. There was where Aoba came in. Playing the role as Noiz’s personal caretaker, he’d ensure that Noiz had sufficient rest to make up for the effort he’d poured into everything he was doing. He appreciated it, of course. But he wanted Noiz to know that there was no time limit for him to grow up.

Giving out another yawn, he sank back into the sheets again as he rolled to his side, attempting to soothe the sleepiness for a while more when he felt Noiz hovering over him, nuzzling his face against his shoulder before he planted a soft kiss on it.

“I’m going to make us breakfast. You take your time.”

He wanted to reply him but the sleep within him was too strong for him to resist and before he knew it, he fell back to sleep, feeling Noiz kissing him on the cheek before the sound of door closing became the last thing he heard.

 

He almost threw himself off the bed the next time he woke up, suddenly being reminded that he didn’t ask Noiz what he was making for breakfast. Dragging himself off the bed, he strolled towards the kitchen, just to see Noiz reading a list of instructions on his hologram screen, expression focused accompanied by a small frown.

“Do you need any help?” Aoba called out, hugging his boyfriend from behind and pressing his face against his back.

Caught off guard, Noiz was quick enough to grab onto the spoon he was holding before it could fall from his hand. He turned around, pulled the screen up for Aoba to see and pointed at one of the ingredients.

“We’re missing this,” he said.

“What are you making, anyway?” Aoba asked, rubbing his eye before he fixed his gaze on the words. “Oh.”

“I want to try making it by myself,” he said.

“Are you sure you can handle this, big boy?” Aoba smirked, ruffling Noiz on the hair, messing it up even more than when Noiz still had his bed hair. He obviously hadn’t wash himself up and it created a ripple of flutter within Aoba’s chest upon noticing how endearing his boyfriend could be at times.

“I’ve seen you done it a couple of times,” Noiz retorted with a visibly unpleased expression. “It’s not too hard to make.”

Aoba’s grin only gotten wider. Encircling his arms around Noiz’s waist to hug him close, he tiptoed, kissing Noiz on the lips before he continued,

“Well then, I’ll go and get the ingredients, you stay here and prepare what’s necessary.”

“Isn’t it better for us to go together?” Noiz asked.

“It’s almost noon now,” Aoba checked the wall clock. “It’d be more efficient if one of us runs out and the other stays to cook.”

Noiz’s lack of response told Aoba that he’d agreed with him. After giving him a quick kiss on the nose, Aoba broke himself free off Noiz’s grip, waving a hand at him as he walked towards the bathroom, intending to wash himself up before he could start his day.

There was something about Noiz’s personality – or rather, habit – that Aoba found extremely enchanting. Noiz seemed to be keeping an eye on him at most time. Nothing new; but still, he still found himself being constantly surprised when Noiz could be so overly observant to the extent that he’d notice all the little things Aoba did even without Aoba realizing it himself. It was probably a mutual exchange between them; because for all he knew, _he_ tended to notice little things about Noiz when his boyfriend never did himself.

…Like how Noiz had a habit of renewing Ren’s spare parts and cleaning his fur when Aoba turned in early for the night. Sometimes, he wondered if Noiz would give him the same answer if he was to ask him the same question he threw at him when he first treated the bug in Ren’s system back in Platinum Jail.

When he walked out of the room, now all dressed and ready, Noiz was already mixing the flour, infrequently wiping sweat off his face with the back of his hand. He looked so attentive and Aoba couldn’t help but let out a weak smile before he paced towards him, then tapping him on the shoulder.

“I’ll be going off then,” he said before he gave out a loud laugh when Noiz turned around. “You’ve got flour here.”

He raised a hand up to wipe the stain off Noiz’s face. Noiz had told him that he wouldn’t mind doing anything for Aoba, and for all Aoba knew, he would’ve already planted the determination to try as hard as he could for them in his head when he gave Aoba the promise. Aoba wanted so much to tell him not to overwork himself, but he was sure that his young brat would never understand what exactly ‘overworking’ meant either.

Noiz seized Aoba’s hand on his face then, kissing his palm before he took his fingers into his mouth and sucked the white stain off them.

How one person could possess so many sides to them, Aoba wondered. Coughing loudly, he flicked a finger against Noiz’s forehead, eliciting a small laughter out of the other as he stepped back, frowning at Noiz as he did.

“Behave yourself,” he said. “Well, I should get going then.” Checking the list of things to buy for one final time, he turned to look at Noiz again, giving him a smile before he waved the small note in his hand. “See you later.”

“Aoba.”

He was about to turn on his heels, but Noiz was faster. Pulling Aoba’s wrist towards him, he gently held onto Aoba’s chin, kissing him softly on the lips before he smiled,

“Stay safe.”

This time, Aoba no longer had the heart to push him away. Cupping his boyfriend’s face, he returned his kiss and murmured against his lips,

“I’ll be back soon.”

 

***

 

After half a year of residing in Germany, Aoba had practically mastered how the town worked. He wouldn’t say that he was completely familiar with everything here but he had indeed, started to feel more comfortable with the lifestyle here now, even making a few friends in some of the shops which he’d become a regular in.

“Ren, navigation as usual, please.”

“Understood.”

Ren, certainly, had been a great help to him as usual. He was positive that he wouldn’t be able to achieve so much without Ren’s help and bringing him along to Germany was probably the best decision he’d ever made. Sometimes, though, he’d find new programs in Ren that he knew never existed, just to find out that Noiz had installed several helpful guides for him without telling him. Ren got his fair share of tickings-off, of course. But those were short-lived. Right after the rounds of unintended lectures, the guilt within Aoba would become too huge for him to contain before he threw himself at a pouting Noiz and an equally guilt-filled Ren and apologizing to them even when he knew there wasn’t a need to.

The streets were busy as usual. Finding pleasure at the atmosphere around him, Aoba hummed quietly, putting his headphones on as he scrutinized the friendliness that was the German street. This place had started to feel more like home. Sometimes, immersing himself in the morning street tended to remind himself of how Midorijima felt like in the morning. It was once a foreign experience for him. But now, it was different - He blended well with the society here, learned how to attend to formal occasions and learned enough German to conduct simply conversations with the local folks.

Germany had, in fact, became a second Midorijima for him.

From time to time, he found himself thinking of leaving his unsettled past, or even the whole of Midorijima behind him and starting anew here. The thought terrified him. But deep within him, he knew that a part of his past still slept in one part of his body, even in his brain. The unsolved matter had become a prick in his heart and he didn’t intend to bury it just like that either. Noiz’s persistence to visit Midorijima every few months was a useful reminder for him. He still missed home. But home was just a word away and before he knew it, he’d come to acknowledge that he now had, in fact, _two_ homes and he was extremely grateful for that mere fact.

“Is it opened?” he asked Ren as they strode closer to the shop.

“Yes, it is,” Ren answered.

It wasn’t hard to spot the shop Aoba intended to visit, either. As soon as the familiar red signboard came into view, his face broke into a big smile, his pace fastened as he approached the shop, stopping only when he noticed the huge group of people in it.

“Wow…” he exclaimed quietly, taking his headphones off as he gazed at the busy entrance with a bitter smile on his face.

“Guess we need to wait for a bit then,” he sighed. Then, looking at the time, he sighed again. He definitely wouldn’t make it for breakfast, but lunch didn’t sound too bad of an idea either.

_“I’ll be late.”_

He sent Noiz a message, just in case he’d gotten worried for his long absence. A quick ‘ _Okay_.’ reply later, he hurried to stand behind the long queue, looking around and wondering what he could do to pass time now that he was going to be stuck here for at least half an hour.

 

***

 

He didn’t particularly care about the time. Aoba said he’d be back in half an hour time and he trusted him. He always did. He was more concerned with getting the matter in his hands right at this very moment. He wanted to keep it a secret from Aoba just so he could give him a surprise but as he went to the core of the preparation, he realized that, for once, he might have overestimated himself.

Cutting the onion was one thing – Aoba hadn’t warned him how _dangerous_ this could be – but seasoning the meat was a great challenge of its own. Usagimodoki had been extremely helpful all this while but sometimes he found himself concentrating too hard on the task in hands to the extent that he couldn’t even hear its voice when it sent him a warning alert about overheated oven. He’d found out about this information when he’d overheard Aoba talking over the phone – something about “ _Yeah, I missed that. Remind me to ask for beef stew when I’m back the next time._ ” – and since then, the idea was stuck in his mind the entire time. He knew that he won’t be able to cook as well as Tae, but he wanted to try; at the very least, he wanted Aoba to feel as if he’d never left home here in their apartment.

Unconsciously wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, he was about to resume slicing the meat when he withdrew his hand out of reflex, a sharp pain coursed through the whole of his index finger when the blade of the kitchen knife cut through his skin.

“Ouch.”

“Noiz! Noiz! It’s bleeding!”

The red liquid gushing out of Noiz’s wound sent Usagimodoki into a panic state as it bounced on the counter, staring frantically at the blood.

“It’s fine,” Noiz said dismissively.

“Bandage! Plaster!” Usagimodoki continued. The pain wasn’t his concern, even though it sent him into a moment of daze. Taking his finger up to suck on it, the taste of blood had him clicking his tongue before he pulled it out again.

A short while later, Usagimodoki returned with a roll of bandage and a plaster hanging around its cube-shaped figure. It dropped the items on the counter, then proceeded to hop on Noiz’s shoulder, as if rushing Noiz to treat it just when Noiz was about to return to work.

“Noiz! Noiz! Wound!”

“Later,” Noiz said, about to pick the knife up again when his Allmate jumped down from his shoulder and onto the knife handle instead.

Noiz received its message loud and clear. Frowning, he looked at the wall clock. Fifteen minutes had passed since Aoba texted him that he’d be late. He’d need another thirty minutes to cook his meal. But then, he looked at his Allmate, then at his bleeding finger before he gave out a sigh, moving away from the stove to take the roll of bandage and plaster off the counter and he settled himself on a nearby chair.

If Aoba was to choose between a beef stew and Noiz’s wellbeing, it’d definitely be the latter. But for some reason, there was this tiny, vague hint of bad premonition within him that he couldn’t dismiss. He looked at the clock again. Aoba should be back in ten minutes.

He should be.

 

***

 

“Thank you! Please come again!”

After passing one of the plastic bags to Ren, Aoba slung the other over his own wrist, struggling to activate his Coil and almost dropping the item when he caught sight of the time.

“Oh crap, it’s already this late! We better hurry back before Noiz gets worried.”

Their apartment wasn’t too far away from where the shop was and if Aoba was to use the right route, he’d be back in no more than ten minutes.

“Aoba, you should send Noiz a message to tell him that you’ll be late,” Ren reminded, his words unclear thanks to the plastic material he was holding with his mouth as he spoke.

“You’re right, I shoul—give me a minute.”

His hands were full, the bags were heavy. He’d need to shift the bag to another hand if he wanted to navigate his Coil with his fingers. Finding it almost impossible to do so, he lifted the bag up and held it with his mouth instead. Now that both of his hands were free, he reactivated his Coil again, scrolling through the screen to find Noiz’s number and walking mindlessly on the street, still with the plastic bag in his mouth.

“Aoba, you should—“

“Woah!”

Ren hadn’t even be able to finish his warning before Aoba almost ran into a street pole, the bag of ingredients fell from his mouth as he screeched; tins rolled out from the bag, packets of sweeteners and sprinkles sprung out of it, scattering all over the floor.

“Argh, this is the worst.” Grumbling, he bent down to pick the stuff up, completely forgetting about his intention to call Noiz. All he wanted to do now was to clean the mess he’d created before he could attract the attention of curious passersby.

“One, two, three… Hmm, one of them is missing…” he muttered. Straightening himself up, he looked around, eyes brightening when he found the missing can at a dark corner of an alley.

“Aoba!” Ren called out, was about to stop him but he was a minute too late when Aoba was already running towards the alley with the bag of items in one hand.

“Here you are,” Aoba smiled, bending down to pick the can up and patting the dust away to put into the bag. He was about to call Noiz again, almost clicking on his boyfriend’s name when a bottle of used can flew at his direction, nearly hitting him in the face if he hadn’t dodged it on time.

“Aoba!” Ren called again, running as fast as he could to his side before he looked up and noticed the seriousness on Aoba’s face. “Aoba, are you okay?” he asked. But Aoba lifted a finger and pressed it against his own lips, signaling him to keep his voice down.

“Seems like we run into a small trouble here,” he whispered, shifting as quietly as he could towards a shade that was made up of a pile of wooden boxes, then peeking out from the shade.

What they were witnessing in front of them was the first road bullying they’d ever run into ever since they’d moved to Germany.

 

*** 

 

He thought he’d messed up; but he didn’t. In fact, he managed to serve the beef stew on their dining table faster than he expected. It had been an hour since Aoba’s last message. Aoba wasn’t a person who would leave for long hours without informing Noiz, especially when he knew that Noiz would be worried for him. Shifting his gaze to the clock again, his frown deepened – it was already 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon.

“Any messages?” Noiz asked Usagimodoki, who was resting on the coffee table before he perked its head up upon hearing Noiz’s question.

“P! Checking inbox!”

He was sure that he would’ve heard his message ringtone if Aoba was to send him a message. Or it might be that he’d missed it when he was too busy preparing their lunch.

He wanted to believe it was the latter.

“P! Inbox scanning completed! No new message from Aoba!”

He let out a heavy sigh. He looked at the clock again. This was way too unusual for Aoba. There must be a reason why he didn’t contact Noiz even when he should know that he was taking way too long to return. He must have run into troubles; or he must have dropped his Coil; or he could be busy with something else – ran into someone he knew, found something that had caught his attention, maybe. Noiz bent forward, supporting his chin with his knuckles as he considered, his heart pumping fast and furious beneath his chest, his mind on a fast track.

Something was not right, and the bad omen he’d felt from when he cut his finger – now nicely bandaged – wasn’t helping him ease his thoughts either.

“Let’s go.” He stood up, hastily grabbing his jacket from the couch before he spread his palm, urging Usagimodoki to hop onto it.

 

***

 

“This is not your business. It’s best if you could stay out of this, young man.”

Even with his very limited recognition of German, one didn’t need to be a genius to understand what this group of men was trying to tell him. There could be only two possibilities – one being them asking him to leave them for good; and another being to fight them and settle it once and for all. Aoba didn’t know exactly which their intention was but either way, they didn’t sound like they had given him the option to leave the scared looking girl alone anyway.

“Aoba, do you think this is a good idea?” Ren asked, standing by Aoba’s foot.

“There’s no way I could stand and watch this happening without doing anything,” Aoba gritted his words through his teeth. Still fixing a ferocious gaze at the group of foreigners, he moved aside, just to put the bags of shopping items down before he clenched his fists, straightened himself up, and walked towards them.

“I don’t know what business you have with this girl but she obviously isn’t ready to comply so please leave her alone.”

The men looked at each other. Aoba’s accent must have gave him out. He felt the intimidation hitting him at the wrong time but he swallowed his nerve down, feeling cold sweat rolling down his cheeks as the men returned their attention to him.

“We applaud you for having the guts to confront us like this. Can you even understand what we’re talking about?”

Aoba nodded. “I understand every word, thank you for your concern.”

The group of men laughed then. They must be making fun of him. It twitched every one of Aoba’s nerves. He knew this feeling very well; he’d grown up being teased at. But now that he was mature and grown enough to confront his own problems, there was no way he’d let people get away after they’d hurt his feelings anymore.

“You’re in our country, young man.” A man who seemed to be the leader of the gang walked towards him, bringing their distance closer. “You need to follow the rules when you’re in people’s place.”

Aoba smirked at him. He could hear his own heartbeats in his ears and he could physically feel the shivers on the tips of his fingers but he inhaled, just deep enough to refill the courage back into him before he curved the corners of his lips higher.

“You’re right, I’m in a country that isn’t my own.” The men started laughing again, as if he’d just admitted defeat. He coughed loudly, trying to reaffirm his own position. “But I know that standing and ignoring bullying cases right in front of my eyes isn’t part of the rule of this country and even if it is…” He purposely paused, his gaze boring penetratingly and, _almost_ dangerously at the surprised men. “…it’s not a rule in _my_ own belief. So step down before anyone can get hurt.”

There was something within him that told him that this was a part of him that he never knew existed, no matter much he’d grown. He was certainly one to take things in a more casual pace; one who never wanted to be involved in any troublesome matters whatsoever, especially not in a place which he wasn’t familiar enough with.

But he knew this was who he was now. If this was who he’d grown to be—

Then so be it.

 

***

 

He stood in front of the shop Aoba used to buy his ingredients from. The line was still long and he squeezed himself through the crowd to find a sign of blue but all he’d gotten was unfamiliar faces. He clicked his tongue, then checking the time again. Aoba had been out of contact for more than an hour now.

“Call him again,” he demanded, immediately hearing the ringing sound vibrating from his Coil.

“No answer! No answer!”

He clenched his fists, made his way out of the shop and looked around. Did Aoba decid to grab something else on top of the things he needed to get? There was a possibility that he might have wandered to somewhere with weak connection but that also meant that Noiz wouldn’t be able to even connect to him either.

His mind was running so fast he thought he was at the verge of losing his composure. He didn’t know what he could do. He couldn’t even file a missing person report without having to wait for another twenty four hours.

That was _too long_.

He stood, completely lost, in the middle of the street. He never considered about the fact that he might lose Aoba one day. Aoba _promised_ him. There was no way he’d disappear _just like that_.

“Noiz! Noiz! Calm down!”

He didn’t need Usagimodoki to tell him that. He could feel how close he was to losing himself now and he _needed_ to calm down, so that he could think of a way to locate Aoba.

Hearing a click in his head, he checked his Coil again. If he could locate Aoba’s Coil signal, maybe then he’d be able to know where his boyfriend was now.

“Noiz! Noiz!”

Usagimodoki leapt on his shoulder. He had no time for it. All that he cared now was—

“Aoba! Aoba!”

He looked up. Was Aoba nearby?

“Incoming call! Aoba! Pick up?”

“Connect me,” he said almost instantly. He could still feel the loud heartbeats in his ears, the mere mention of _Aoba_ ’s name had him shiver slightly.

The call connected. For a moment, there was only silence on the other side, then he heard the sounds of metal clanking against each other.

“Aoba?” he called out.

“Ah, it’s connected.” It was Aoba’s voice. He can’t help but let out a relieved sigh. “I’m sorry. I totally forgot to call you back.”

“Where are you?” He didn’t even mind a single bit. As long as Aoba’s safe now, nothing else mattered anymore.

“I’m in the hospital.”

He couldn’t remember when was the last time he’d run this fast.

 

He almost knocked down a few trolleys as he made his way down the corridor. Without waiting for the elevator, he ran up the stairs to the fourth floor, where Aoba was.

The moment he saw Aoba sitting on the bench right outside the room where he’d directed Noiz to, he stopped, just to catch his breath before he made quick steps towards his boyfriend.

“Ah, Noiz!” Aoba beamed the moment he saw Noiz. Standing up, he was about to wipe the sweat off his boyfriend’s face when Noiz pulled him into a tight hug.

“Noiz?”

“Please don’t do this again,” Noiz muttered, face buried in Aoba’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Aoba smiled bitterly, patting Noiz on the head as he returned Noiz’s hug. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Only when Noiz calmed down that he released Aoba from his embrace, jumping straight into the core of the matter as he did.

“You have bruises here,” he swept a finger gently across Aoba’s cheek. The scar was obviously new, still red and looked painful.

“Ah… yeah, there was some.. well, trouble,” Aoba said as he scratched his head. “Ouch.”

“Sorry,” Noiz immediately withdrew his hand but Aoba grasped onto it, pressing his palm back against his cheek.

“But it will heal soon,” he reassured. “What is a man if one doesn’t have enough scars, right?”

Noiz could only scowl at him. He had no idea what complication Aoba ran into – at least not yet – but it wasn’t hard to notice how Aoba tended to invite trouble for himself, regardless if it was done consciously or unconsciously. It was part of who Aoba was and he had no intention to stop him from playing justice as much as he wanted. But if that meant he had to witness Aoba bearing more unnecessary scars than the ones he already had, then it was a new story altogether.

“What happened?” he finally asked, skimming through the other body parts of Aoba to detect more scars. His frown deepened when he spotted how Aoba had been holding his right elbow for the entire time now.

Noticing that, Aoba quickly took his hand out of sight before Noiz could send him a deadly glare.

“I ran into a group of men mistreating a young girl in one of the alleys,” Aoba quickly said, attempting to shift Noiz’s attention away from his wounds.

“And you decided that getting into a fight and injuring yourself is a good idea?” Noiz continued the story for him. Aoba’s lack of response told him that he’d gotten it right. “What happened to the others?”

“I beat them up,” Aoba grinned, but his smile faded instantly when he saw Noiz’s dissatisfaction. “W-well, I’m not hurt too badly. I brought the girl here so that they could check her out but the doctor insisted that they should check me too.”

“Which is the right thing to do,” Noiz said, without even realizing how his tone had become unintentionally harsh.

“Noiz, I’m just doing what I think should be done,” Aoba retorted. He knew where Noiz was coming from but he also felt a need to defend himself so that he wouldn’t look like an idiot who’d mindlessly stick his head into other’s business and invite himself a whole body of scars. “You can’t expect me to stand there and ignore what I’ve seen.”

This was a part of Aoba’s personality that Noiz was very well informed of. He’d experienced this side of Aoba for countless times; and it was precisely _this_ Aoba who had pulled him out of his own dark world.

He had no rights to question him; exasperating him and restricting him was probably the last thing he ever needed.

He closed his eyes with a groan. He needed to calm down. His head was still bustling with tension and he knew that he wasn’t in the best state to rationalize the situation.

“Noiz.”

Before he could find a way to fix the unnecessary confrontation that he’d triggered, he felt a hand on his face, urging him to open his eyes just to look into Aoba’s gentle smile.

“I know you’re worried about me. I apologize for not contacting you as soon as I can. You’re probably angry at me but,” he raised his hand, finally showing Noiz the bandaged elbow. “…I’d need someone to tend to my wounds later.”

There was no way he could win Aoba. He should’ve surrendered to his fate ever since he encountered him.

But there was also no way he could deny how he felt – especially towards Aoba, who’d injured himself every so often without caring about how others would feel towards it.

 

***

 

The beef stew was already cold when they reached home. Frowning miserably at the food, Aoba ruffled Noiz’s hair, complimenting him but immediately pulled back when he felt a stab on his wounds.

“O-ouch…” he whined, holding onto his elbow as he made a painful expression.

“Does it hurt?” Noiz asked, reaching out to pull Aoba carefully over by the wrist.

“Yeah, a bit,” Aoba writhed. “Ugh, this would be inconvenient for some time.”

“I assume you’d need help showering then,” Noiz said with a suggestive smirk on his face, drawing a frown out of Aoba before he felt the familiar smack on his head.

“I can do that by myself, you perverted brat,” he reprimanded. “It’s not as bad as you think it is. But you know what I think is bad?”

Noiz tilted his head, waiting for Aoba to reveal the answer.

“That,” he pointed at the cold food on the dining table. “..is bad. Can we do anything to save those? You spent so much time making them. It’d be a waste to throw them away just like that.”

“Heat them up, maybe?” Noiz considered. “But it might not taste as well as when they were made fresh.”

“It doesn’t matter.” The cheeky grin had returned to Aoba’s face. “You made them with _love_. They’ll taste good anyhow.”

It was a comeback; one that Noiz would accept without hesitation.

“I guess we can’t make the donuts today then,” Aoba leaned back and gave out a sigh. “The ingredients are completely ruined during the fight.”

“We can make them any other day we’re free,” Noiz comforted. “We have time.”

Smiling in response, Aoba nodded. “Yeah. We have time.”

 

He was pretty sure that Aoba was lying when he said that he didn’t need help showering – he could see it on his face when he toppled out of the bath later at night. He’d persuaded Aoba to sleep with him tonight so that he could tend to his wounds better. Once he was done with his own shower, he took the first-aid kit out of his cabinet and waited in his own room. When Aoba walked into the room, he was wearing this unpleasant expression on his face that looked almost like he was in pain. Holding his right arm with his left, he sat on the corner of the bed, with nothing but a towel wrapping his lower body as he stretched his right arm, clenched his hand into fist then slumped it back down uselessly on his lap.

“Argh, this is worse than I thought it’d be,” he grumbled.

Now that he had his bandages off, Noiz could finally catch a good sight of his scar – it was bruised red, but the main cause for the pain was probably due to the healing broken bones beneath the skin, which had caused discomfort for Aoba even when all he did was lifting a finger.

“I’d be really troubled if it doesn’t heal soon,” Aoba complained again, trying to lift his hand again just to drop it weakly on his thigh.

“Take your time,” Noiz pressed, grabbing the first-aid kit from the bedside table to tend to Aoba’s wounds. There was no apparent cut, but having it bandaged would definitely be much safer than letting it exposed like that.

“This is my writing hand…” Aoba stared sadly at his arm. “It’s my source of life!”

Noiz laughed. He knew Aoba was exaggerating and he wasn’t really as upset as he sounded. He probably did that so as not to make Noiz worry too much, though.

Clutching Aoba’s right arm gently, Noiz moved to sit next to him as he placed his hand on his own lap.

“Let me take care of you this time,” he said provocatively before he opened the first-aid kit.

Aoba stared at him the entire time he worked, insinuated at how _gentle_ he was treating him – from the way he lifted his hand to the way he wrapped the soft material around his hand, they were all featherlike touches and Aoba barely felt anything until Noiz was completely done with it. He wasn’t sure if Noiz still remembered but being in this situation once again reminded him affectionately of how he used to tend to Noiz’s wounds when they were in Platinum Jail. And how Noiz had insisted to tend to _Aoba’s_ wounds when he protected him from the attacks of merciless dog-form Allmates.

It almost felt as if their whole relationship was made up of patches – patches that mended each other up when they needed it, regardless of if they were physical or emotional wounds.

Giving Aoba’s bandage one last check, Noiz then raised his hand up, kissed on the bandage, before he released it, settling it comfortably by Aoba’s side.

“All done.”

“Not bad,” Aoba grinned defiantly at him.

“Does it still hurt?” Noiz asked instead, eyeing the wounded hand, then at the bruise on Aoba’s face.

“It doesn’t hurt as much anymore,” Aoba confessed. “But—woah, don’t touch.”

Noiz had reached out to caress the bruise on Aoba’s face. If Aoba was to blink, he was sure that he’d miss the slight agonizing expression on Noiz’s face.

“It’ll heal soon,” he assured, putting his hand on top of Noiz’s on the bed.

“Another scar,” Noiz muttered. Without warning, he propped forward to kiss delicately on the bruise, letting his lips linger for a few moments before he parted.

“Another scar that will heal,” Aoba corrected. He used his useful hand to pat Noiz on the head, feeling the light sensation of Noiz’s blond-colored hair before Noiz’s conflicted profile captured his attention. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve noticed this but I hadn’t gotten the chance to ask you,” Noiz started, his eyes looking at every part of Aoba’s body but his eyes. “Scars.”

“Huh? Oh.”

As much as he always reproached Noiz for leaving scars on his body without feeling the need to tend to them, he knew that he was in no position to lecture him further because for all he knew, _he_ himself was bearing the same, if not more amount of scars on his own body that he was too oblivious to care for.

“You’re a pretty reckless one, aren’t you?” Noiz pestered, tracing a finger along a faded scar on Aoba’s abdomen. “This seems very old.”

“I guess so,” Aoba shrugged.

“What do you mean ‘you guess so’?”

“Well…” Aoba trailed off. “I can’t remember how I got it, to be honest.”

Noiz lifted a curious eyebrow, taking a few moments to consider before his eyes brightened, a switch clicking in his head.

“Ah, that’s the one, isn’t it?”

“Hm?”

“The past that you said you have no memories of – the one when you were playing Rhyme.”

“Yeah,” Aoba agreed. “This scar,” he said as he traced a fingertip along the long faded wound on his stomach. “and this one.” To show Noiz, he turned around, presenting a seemingly deep but faded wound along his shoulder. “I can’t remember how I got this either. I have some that I remember, though. Like this one,” he raised his left arm and turned it around, showing Noiz a small scar along his fair skin. “It was a street fight two years back, if I remember correctly. Man, those guys were nasty. I didn’t have anything to defend myself and they were charging at me with pocket knives. I thought I’d die then.”

Noiz had been quiet for some time now. With his back facing him, Aoba couldn’t quite make out his expression but for all he knew, he might be scrutinizing the scar on Aoba’s back, probably even trying to figure out how to make it disappear.

Then, he heard a sigh and was about to turn around to comfort Noiz if he needed any but before he could do just that, Noiz had hugged him from the back, kissing him on the shoulder before he said,

“You seriously like bringing trouble to yourself, huh?”

For once, the tone Noiz used didn’t sound like a mock; rather, it sounded like a weak struggle with a tiny hint of pain that Aoba could sense even when he knew how much Noiz had been suppressing it.

“Well, sometimes I can’t just stand around doing nothing, you know?” he said, attempting to defend himself. It wasn’t like he _liked_ having these scars on himself. A lot of those – big or tiny – were scars would end up staying with him for the rest of his life and he wasn’t sure if he was perfectly okay with the idea.

“Just like you can’t stand around and do nothing when I hurt myself.”

Well, that was one too, Aoba thought. Smiling after a nod, he intertwined their fingers together as he stared into space.

“I’d need to be grateful for being like this then,” he said, almost sounded like he was joking. “There are too many things that I can’t do. But at the very least, I want to do the ones that I can.”

Noiz agreed with him. If not because of Aoba’s persistence, if not because of his constant urge to push himself into other’s business, he wouldn’t be able to open Noiz’s heart up and leading him to who he was today.

It was a contradicting feeling and Noiz wasn’t sure if he was completely fine with that.

But what he _knew_ he should do was to tend to Aoba when he came back from his battle, regardless if that battle was his own or for others.

That was the only thing he could do for him, with no intention to stop or change who he was.

With that thought in mind, he wrapped one arm around Aoba’s torso, another snaking up his naked body to grasp on his chin, then turning it around so that they could meet each other’s eyes.

They didn’t need more words between them; the moment Aoba saw the hint of want in Noiz’s eyes he leaned in reflexively, brushing his lips playfully against his boyfriend’s before he pressed harder against them. The small tremble he felt in response made him smile, and so he let the warmth linger for a bit longer before he closed his eyes, patiently waiting for the next thing to happen.

And soon, as expected, Noiz gripped him on the waist, pushing himself towards Aoba at the same time to deepen their kiss. He loved to speculate what Noiz would do next – sometimes Noiz would take his own sweet time on him, as if attempting to memorize every one of Aoba’s reactions; but sometimes, the impatience in his younger boyfriend would become so pronounced that he needed to take a step back and brace himself for what was to come.

Today, though, Noiz seemed to be taking the former route as he licked frivolously on Aoba’s bottom lip, eliciting a small laugh out of Aoba. He knew how ridiculous they looked like at this very moment – every time they kissed, it felt like first kiss all over again and Aoba couldn’t help but opened his eyes just so he could capture the innocence in his young boyfriend’s profile.

Noiz’s eyes were still fixed on him when he opened his eyes. Grinning in response, Noiz raised a hand to stroke his cheek again, causing Aoba to flinch a bit before something else caught his attention.

“Wait, Noiz, that’s… did you injure yourself?”

Noiz was momentarily surprised before he muttered a quiet ‘oh’, then returning his attention to trace his hand along the curve of Aoba’s body, until it came dangerously close to Aoba’s crotch.

“No, seriously,” Aoba started. He wanted to touch him but his right hand was completely useless and he’d need to stretch his left hand to catch Noiz’s finger. But Noiz was faster. Before Aoba could even move, he had already placed the injured hand on Aoba’s dick. Even when it was separated by the thick layer of cloth that was his towel, he could faintly feel the rising heat from beneath it. He shot a suggestive smirk at Aoba’s direction, and Aoba wanted so very much to divert his attention back to his injury when Noiz spoke,

“That aside,” his voice was dangerously low, the kind of voice he used only when he was aroused. “Since I can’t move my finger too much, can you do me a favor, then?”

He didn’t even need to ask, Aoba only needed to know _what_ exactly that he needed help with.

Seeing the anticipation on his face, Noiz grin widened before he raised his free, uninjured hand up and showed Aoba two fingers. Aoba didn’t even need him to tell him what to do. He already knew.

Nodding, he opened his mouth, a clue strong enough for Noiz to press both of his fingers into it, instantly feeling Aoba’s warm, wet tongue swirling around his fingers as the other closed his eyes, seemingly ready to concentrate on the task in hand.

Taking it as a hint to continue, Noiz continued rubbing experimentally against Aoba’s dick, the small moan he drew out of Aoba when he did just that intensified his desire effortlessly. A few strokes later and he could feel Aoba’s dick increasing in heat, slowly gaining hardness and creating an obvious bulge from beneath the cloth.

“N-Noiz,” Aoba called out breathlessly. Noiz’s fingers were soaked wet with Aoba’s saliva; Aoba had even started to suck on them when Noiz was busy tending to his rising erection.

Still having his fingers in Aoba’s mouth, he shifted to sit behind Aoba instead, positioning himself so that he had Aoba sitting in between his legs before he pulled the towel open, finally exposing Aoba’s hardened dick in the cold air of their room.

“Ah..” Aoba pulled himself off Noiz’s fingers just to force a moan out. He slumped against Noiz, his back pressing against Noiz’s chest, eyes closed and breathing heavy.

Noiz leaned in just enough to kiss softly on the bruise on Aoba’s cheek. Aoba had already fallen into a state of bliss where he’d allow Noiz to do whatever he wanted to him – entrusting the entirety of himself to Noiz. The sight was a huge, irresistible seduction of its own. Feeling the sudden thriving of impatience from within him, Noiz returned his touch to Aoba’s dick, now pumping directly on the sensitive skin.

“N-Noiz, if you do it like that, I’m gonna—“

Noiz’s pumps were more vicious than usual – the occasional teasing scratch against his foreskin, the hard grasp on the head and the unexpected dig of finger into the slit all had Aoba breathing open-mouthed, too aroused and too breathless to mutter another word. All he could do was clutching hard on Noiz’s arm, nails sinking into his skin as he arched his back, feeling his orgasm inching closer and closer to its edge.

“Go ahead,” Noiz whispered into his ear before he sucked on his earlobe. That seemed to be more than enough for Aoba to let out a choked moan, his voice momentary lost when he let himself loose in Noiz’s hand, spilling semen all over him and feeling Noiz squeezing on his head, as if to milk him to the last bit. His head was in a daze when he fell, boneless, against Noiz again, the violent heartbeats beneath his chest made him feel as if he’d just finish a five-hour marathon.

“You came quite a lot,” Noiz lifted his smeared hand up. Aoba perked open a tired eye. Even through the blurry vision, he could make out how his own semen dripped from Noiz’s fingers, Noiz’s hand and landed on his own flushed skin.

“I-it’s be a while… after all…” he responded weakly. He could really fall asleep just like that. Never did he know that coming from a hand job could be so tiring.

“Hmm, now that you mention it,” Noiz hummed, bringing his hand closer for Aoba to see. “Looks like I need to treat my wound again now that you’ve dirtied it.”

Aoba’s eyes snapped open. Noiz was right – the bandage that was wrapped around Noiz’s index finger was soaked with his cum, he could even see the brownish smudge of blood now that his almost-dried wound had made contact with liquid.

“I’m sorry,” Aoba said, pulling Noiz’s hand closer to have a better look. “I’ll tend to you later.”

“’Later’?”

He could hear Noiz’s smirk even in his voice itself. The word had slipped out of his mouth without having the chance to go through a round of filtration. Now that it was done, he could no longer take it back. Gulping down his throat and attempting to contain his agitation, he looked back at Noiz, scowling when he saw Noiz giving him the smirk he was so very familiar with.

“Don’t tell me you intend to leave _this_ untreated too?” he gritted, pointing at Noiz’s hardened dick with his eyes.

“I don’t intend to,” Noiz answered, his grin only gotten wider with every passing second. “But if you intend to help me out, I’d be more than happy to let you do the job.”

“You..” Aoba growled. “Well, I can’t do much now with a useless hand, you’ll need to prepare for yourself.”

If that was supposed to be a threat, it wasn’t working very well, Aoba noted. In fact, it might have backfired on him.

“With this,” Noiz raised the saliva-filled fingers. “And this?” Then raising the semen-filled fingers for Aoba to see. “I think I’ve got everything I need.”

He wanted to bury himself under the blanket and go to sleep just like that. But instead, he allowed himself to be ushered to bed, allowing Noiz to place his head against the soft, comfortable material of his pillow and allowing Noiz to dive between his legs. They were used to mutual hand jobs, but there were times when Aoba tended to feel bad about letting Noiz doing most of the job that he ended up doing more than he should. This time, though, he had no reason _not_ to let Noiz handle everything, considering how he was physically useless anyway.

When Noiz took his dick into his mouth, he bit down his lip, bending his legs and practically clawing on the mattress when he felt the tip of Noiz’s tongue licked along his his slit.

“Hmm, you’re pretty impatient yourself,” Noiz smirked against the head of his dick. “Two sucks and you’re already hard. Usually it’d take at least four.”

“Y-you… why did you even count that?” He wanted to become one with the mattress already.

Noiz seemed to be letting him pass this time as he gave his head another hard suck then moving his saliva-smeared fingers towards Aoba’s hole. He stopped, releasing Aoba’s dick with an obscene pop before he looked up at Aoba, who’d just looked back at him.

“This is yours,” he said, pushing one finger in. The cold sensation that was his own saliva had Aoba shiver out of reflex. But as Noiz pushed a second finger in, he started getting used to the foreign sensation; and right after Noiz eased his fingers in and was able to thrust in smooth motion, he pulled them out, crouching slightly to check on the spot where he’d just thrust.

“I thought I was thinking too much but,” he pressed on the crease of his hole, beaming when Aoba’s muscles contracted involuntarily at the intentional tease. “You _really_ seem like you’re more eager today. What’s with this? A relief after a fight?”

Aoba didn’t even know the answer to Noiz’s question. He was practically helpless under Noiz’s touch. Noiz seemed to know every part of his that could draw the best reaction out of him. The countless lovemaking sessions alongside Noiz’s extremely profound observation seemed to have bear its fruit. The fact that he actually counted the number of pumps and sucks he gave Aoba when they made love had told Aoba enough.

When Noiz pushed the other slicked fingers – now the semen-filled ones – against his hole, he opened up for him without the need for Noiz to tell him so. He refused to look into Noiz’s eyes now, even though he knew that Noiz had every inch of his skin under his view. When he pushed the finger in, Aoba sucked it in, clasping so hard on it to the extent that it was hard for Noiz to even move.

“Aoba,” Noiz called out. Rather than answering, Aoba let out another breathy moan, staring down at Noiz with glazy eyes, flush obvious on his face. “D-don’t suck too hard, it’s hard to move.”

There was _no way_ one could resist this temptation. Noiz had to swallow down his throat to stop himself from thrusting his own erection deep into Aoba then and there. The warmth he felt around his finger was a lethal seduction. And it wasn’t helping knowing that he could replace it with his dick any moment now.

It seemed like Aoba shared the same thought as him though.

“Noiz, it’s enough,” Aoba said in the next second, as soon as the thought flashed past Noiz’s head. As if his words alone weren’t enough to emphasize his points, Aoba spread his legs wider, completely exposing his hole as Noiz’s dick gave an interested twitch at the sight.

“… I’m fetching lube,” he could only say. He was sure that if both of Aoba’s hands were usable he’d jump up and pull him back.

He almost spilled the entire bottle of the lube onto his palm.

When two of his fingers finally made their way into Aoba, Aoba inhaled deeply, held his breath, desperate to push Noiz’s fingers deeper into him and for a moment, he felt his breath trapped beneath his chest. He almost forgot to breath.

“Calm down,” Noiz exhaled, pulling his fingers out and releasing Aoba’s trapped air at the same time.

“Says the one who can’t wait to put his dick in me,” Aoba smirked. Lifting one hand, he reached out towards Noiz. “Come claim your apology gift.”

He’d worked hard enough; he’d worried about Aoba enough. Now, the best thing Aoba could do is to make sure that he was here, by his side, and not elsewhere. And he wanted to tell Noiz exactly that – in every aspects he could.

When Noiz sank his dick into him, hitting Aoba in the hilt at one smooth thrust, Aoba cried out loud; one weak hand clutching hard on the mattress and another clinging hard on Noiz’s neck.

“You might have your own scars,” he heard Noiz speak, his voice sounded far but near. “But the ones _inside_ you belong to me.”

He could only manage a weak smile before it was soon replaced by a loud moan of his own. He could feel Noiz’s touching every part of his body, lingering especially longer on his old scars, his slow thrusts eventually picking up speed when he reached to touch the new bruise on his face.

“I hope I know whoever did this to you,” Noiz said between pants. Kissing Aoba on the lips, he shifted his kiss to the scar, licking on them gently before he kissed it again, now firmer than before.

“And what are you going to do to them, huh?” Aoba grinned. One deep thrust had him clinging onto Noiz with his legs, which did nothing but pulling Noiz closer and deeper into him instead. It wasn’t his intention, but the overstimulation painted a layer of white in his head and he lost his words, even forgetting his question when Noiz answered him.

“That’s a tricky question,” he returned the smirk onto his face. “Maybe giving them a scar ten times worse than the one they gave you?”

Aoba let out a weak chuckle. “Brat.”

The rest of their conversation was drown in breathy, intense moans and ferocious, almost violent thrusts. Aoba felt numb inside; Noiz’s rapid and passionate motion rubbed him raw, the frictions within him were all he could feel. He didn’t even know when he reached his own climax, only found out when Noiz licked the drool off his corner of his lips and released himself deep inside of him as well, only three seconds later than Aoba’s own release.

 

*** 

 

There were a lot of things that he couldn’t remember – one being his past; another being the scars on his body. He knew he’d gotten most of them during his Sly Blue days, but it still troubled him to no end especially knowing that he was missing a huge portion of memories that he deemed extremely important to him.

Across time, Noiz had come to understand that he wasn’t lying when he told him that he couldn’t remember that Rhyme was once part of his life. It worried him, but he never wanted to press Aoba too much about it. He’d once asked Aoba if he needed help to revive his memory, but Aoba merely shook his head, telling him that he probably needed his own time for this and perhaps one day, he’d be able to find them again.

Noiz would agree to whatever decisions he was to make. But he knew one thing that Noiz would _never_ agree – that was to create more scars that wasn’t his on his body, be it intentional or not.

“So how did you defeat them?” Noiz asked after they’d showered and cleaned themselves up. It was already well past midnight by the time they were done and Aoba had fallen into a state of haziness; the physical exhaustion finally caught up to him.

“Hmm…?” he mumbled against the sheets. “I fought them, obviously.”

“So you kicked them?”

Noiz question had Aoba looked up at him from the pillow, shooting him a curious stare.

“I’ve heard about your infamous kicks. Is that one of the things you can’t remember?”

“I _remember_ ,” Aoba emphasized with a pout. “I didn’t expect you to know.”

“What about you that I _don’t_ know?” Noiz teased.

“Hmmm, something like…” His brain was running on a very sluggish speed now. He was almost sure that he was just throwing words out of his own conscious. “Maybe I’ve grown stronger?”

Noiz’s silence told Aoba that he might have beaten the brat this time. Shutting off his thoughts and was about to let himself fall asleep, he felt Noiz moving beside him, felt him snuggling close to him and felt him pulling himself into a cuddle.

“You’ve always been strong. That’s why I’m attracted to you, remember?”

Noiz’s words were barely audible, but definitely genuine. He smiled against the soft material of his pillow. He’d return Noiz’s hug if his right arm could be a little more useful right not but the odds were against him so he simply allowed Noiz to nuzzle against his cheek. He wanted to tell Noiz that _he_ was strong himself for being able to survive through all the hardships that were mercilessly thrown at him.

But he knew that Noiz would throw the same statement back at him again; at the end of the day, they were just the same.

Him, Noiz, and another _him_.

 


End file.
